It’s Personal

Sharon Brooks’ poor teeth spurred her to become a dentist. During high school, she worked summers to pay for treatment and later had orthodontia at the urging of her dentist, Geraldine Morrow, the first female American Dental Association president.

During dental school, she discovered she loved diagnosis and problem solving and decided to pursue teaching and research rather than clinical practice.

“I am a teacher at heart”

At a time when there were few women faculty, Professor Dean Millard provided vital support, treating Brooks as an equal, introducing her at meetings and pushing her to teach radiology classes. When she protested that she didn’t know enough, he encouraged her with, “you’ll learn.”

A member of numerous professional organizations, she is widely published and has been editor of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology and on the editorial board of other oral surgery and oral radiology journals.

Brilliant Detail

During the early 2000s, Brooks provided feedback and beta-testing with a graduate student in biomedical engineering who was developing an early CT scanner. Now semi-retired, Brooks is part of a consortium that provides interpretive services using CBCT for difficult cases.

…at the time that I started here there weren’t very many women around…and some of the faculty didn’t quite know what to do with me...We were a real novelty. [Now,] nobody cares whether you’re a woman or a man anymore.